Extract the Truth MTG Card


Offers strategic insights by revealing an opponent’s hand, enhancing your tactical decisions during the game. Allows potentially casting a nonland card from the opponent’s hand, significantly altering the game’s state. Instant speed execution gives players the flexibility to use the card at the most impactful moment.
Extract the Truth - Streets of New Capenna
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Released2022-04-29
Set symbol
Set nameStreets of New Capenna
Set codeSNC
Number78
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byJosu Hernaiz

Text of card

Choose one — • Target opponent reveals their hand. You may choose a creature, enchantment, or planeswalker card from it. That player discards that card. • Target opponent sacrifices an enchantment.


Cards like Extract the Truth

Extract the Truth carves its niche within Magic: The Gathering’s robust arsenal of reveal and draw spells. This card echoes effects seen in cards like Thoughtseize, sharing the ability to look at an opponent’s hand, but it diverges with its additional draw component. Thoughtseize leans towards a more disruptive playstyle, allowing the removal of nonland cards from the game right at the cost of 2 life.

Conversely, Peek is another card that offers a peek into an opponent’s hand, but its utility is more information-driven without the benefit of drawing a card. Extract the Truth, meanwhile, enables players to gain knowledge while also replenishing their own hand, creating an edge in both card advantage and strategic planning. Then, we have Inquisition of Kozilek as a comparative benchmark. It also provides the chance to discard an opponent’s card, with a restriction on the card’s mana value that Extract the Truth does not impose.

Comparing these choices conveys the unique position Extract the Truth holds by merging hand-reveal mechanics with card draw, facilitating a combo that both disrupts the opponent and advances your game state—a compelling option for players who value knowledge and advantage in Magic: The Gathering.

Thoughtseize - MTG Card versions
Peek - MTG Card versions
Inquisition of Kozilek - MTG Card versions
Thoughtseize - MTG Card versions
Peek - MTG Card versions
Inquisition of Kozilek - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Extract the Truth. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Rakdos MidrangeRakdos Midrange StandardRakdos ReanimatorThe Pizza Box Open: Standard
Mono-Black MidrangeMono-Black Midrange StandardMono-Black MidrangeTraditional Standard Ranked Decklists: May 6, 2024
Mono-Black CoffersMono-Black Coffers ModernMono-Black Coffers$5K RCQ - Modern - SCG CON Philadelphia - Sunday - 9:00 am
Rakdos SacrificeRakdos Sacrifice StandardRakdos SacrificeBOP! Standard Open
Rakdos AggroRakdos Aggro StandardRakdos MidrangeSupported by Rebound standard Supported by Rakuten Books
UBUB StandardTraditional Standard Ranked Decklists: February 5, 2024

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Extract the Truth offers a peek into an opponent’s hand, a crucial move that not only informs your strategy but can disrupt theirs. This knowledge translates to a distinct upper hand in any duel.

Resource Acceleration: As a bonus, you’re presented with a unique opportunity, should the revealed card be nonland, to accelerate your resources by casting it without paying its mana cost. This can be a game changer, potentially turning the tables with the right card at the right moment.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of cast timing that instant speed provides cannot be overstated. It enables you to adapt to the fluid battlefield, using Extract the Truth when the moment is ripe for maximum impact—perhaps in response to an opponent’s critical play or during their end phase for optimal strategic advantage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Extract the Truth demands its caster to part with another card from their hand. In the thick of a game, especially when your options are already wearing thin, having to discard can pose quite a challenge and may inadvertently weaken your position.

Specific Mana Cost: This card calls for a precise blend of mana, one that includes both blue and black. Tailoring your mana base to accommodate such requirements can be onerous and may not always align with the strategic diversity of your deck.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: In the realm of card revealing and opponent hand disruption, the monetary value for Extract the Truth is on the steeper side. There are alternatives within MTG that could do a similar job without having quite such an impact on your mana resources, making this card a less economical choice in certain deck builds.


Reasons to Include Extract the Truth in Your Collection

Versatility: Extract the Truth offers a unique twist on instant speed interaction, allowing a player not only to look at an opponent’s hand but to play a game of chance to possibly exile a card. This makes it adaptable to various deck types, particularly those looking for hand disruption with playful tactics.

Combo Potential: This card can work well in decks that aim to leverage the knowledge of an opponent’s hand contents or synergize with exile mechanics. By potentially removing a key piece from the opponent’s strategy, you set the stage for powerful control or combo plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where understanding and anticipating your opponent’s next move is crucial, Extract the Truth holds significant value. It allows for strategic planning and can disrupt opponents’ strategies effectively, making it a relevant choice in many competitive formats.


How to beat

Extract the Truth presents an interesting tactical dimension to gameplay within Magic: The Gathering. Distinguished by its ability to manipulate an opponent’s hand, it offers players a glimpse into their adversary’s strategies. To outplay this card, it becomes essential to be adaptive and unpredictable with your own hand. Keeping a varied hand with a mix of counter spells, redundancies in key cards, and instant-speed tricks can mitigate the selective power Extract the Truth holds over your game plan. Ideally, you want to bait out its use prematurely or when it has minimal impact, such as after you’ve played your most valuable cards.

Another strategy is to leverage cards that benefit from being targeted or discarded. These could include creatures with abilities triggered upon hitting the graveyard or spells with flashback that can be played from exile. This approach transforms a seeming disadvantage into a tactical boon. Also, consider maintaining a greater number of cards in hand to dilute the effectiveness of Extract the Truth. By deploying card draw spells or effects that replenish your hand, the one card advantage that Extract the Truth provides can be quickly nullified.

Overall, while Extract the Truth may disrupt your initial game plan, flexibly adapting your playstyle and keeping your hand diversified will ensure that its impact is minimized, allowing you to sustain control over the direction of the match.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Extract the Truth MTG card by a specific set like Streets of New Capenna, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Extract the Truth and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Extract the Truth has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Extract the Truth card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2022-04-29 For the first mode, you don't have to choose a card if you don't want to, even if the opponent has a creature, enchantment, or planeswalker card in their hand.